Well, it's off to Oklahoma again for another Woody Guthrie Festival. I live for this. Sometimes I wonder if any of us would even know Woody's name if Bob Dylan hadn't been off Little Richard and onto him at the time that fame came knocking. I always liked Woody's music just fine and certainly appreciated the contribution to our heritage but I always had bigger heroes. My first trip to Okemah changed all of that. Lyrics that I had heard all of my life morphed into the most significant statements that I could imagine. "Some will rob you with a six gun, some with a fountain pen." "All they will call you will be deportee." "The preachers and the lawyers nailed him to a cross and they laid Jesus Christ in his grave." "I guess they're wondering if this land still belongs to you and me." All of my aptitude tests as a kid indicated that I was meant to be a preacher. Fine. Only problem is that I don't really believe in anything. More precisely, I suppose, I believe in everything. I think that Jesus and Buddha and Mohammed and all of the other hotshots brought us pretty much the same, simple ideas. Be nice. Take care of each other. Respect the earth. I don't think they had much interest in gay marriage, German cars, international borders or whether or not I wear pants. I'm sure that they wouldn't have endorsed or chosen sides in a war, holy or otherwise. My wife says that I am a preacher. Not a particularly good one or a well-paid one, but a preacher nonetheless. This administration moved me to the left for a short time. Now I just moved on off the scale. The spirit of Woody has given me hope. The folks that I have met in Oklahoma have given me joy and provided new strength. Maybe it's singing This Land Is Your Land at the top of my lungs every year with hundreds of friends while tears stream down my face that has gotten me the honor of membership on the security watch list. It's sure not my violent nature. Whatever it is I can't wait to get to Oklahoma. This land was made for you and me. Give us peace on earth and end this dreadful, dreadful war.